


Just What I Needed

by roo2010



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Tom Hiddleston Is A Sweetheart, Tom Hiddleston is not an actor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24180562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roo2010/pseuds/roo2010
Summary: Lena is having a very bad day, luckily her boyfriend, Tom, knows just what she needs
Relationships: Tom Hiddleston/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	Just What I Needed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JaneDoe876](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneDoe876/gifts).



> So this is my first time writing a prompt, and I'm not sure how it went. I tried to change my style a little and I hope it worked. I like it, and as long as the prompter does I guess that's all that matters. Comments are always welcome and will be answered

Lena was having a really bad day, and she was fuming. Her boyfriend, Tom, had the week off work on holiday and Lena had been hoping to take some time off with him. That was until her boss at the Fantasy magazine she worked for informed her that she would have to cancel her proposed time off as there was a piece that simply *had* to make the next edition and the deadline was the end of the week that she was due to take off, and, no, she couldn’t work from home that week! So plans for picnics and days out together in the predicted nice weather had been put on hold and Tom was at home whilst Lena seemed to be battling against every obstacle life could throw her way.

Due to the short notice of the piece all the research had to be done and the column written in a ridiculously short time and Lena had spent the first two days of the week putting out feelers in the form of emails and phone calls to get the information she needed. Unfortunately for her the rest of the world of Fantasy at least seemed to think that this week was a good time not to work too. Emails had gone unanswered and phone calls had not been returned and now it was Wednesday and she still had nothing to go on. Frustrated she got out her mobile and sent a text to Tom

_‘I hate the world’_ she wrote ‘ _No one is replying to me and this stupid piece has to be in by Friday. How can I write it if I don’t know specifics?’_

Tom’s reply was immediate and soothing, as she’d known it would be

**‘Take a deep breath and relax darling girl, go and make yourself a nice cup of tea, and possibly a biscuit ;-) and when you are refreshed look at it again and see if you can come at it from a different angle’**

Tom was right of course, he often was when it came to her writing, even though he wasn’t a writer himself, he seemed to intuitively know what to do. He was a graphic designer by trade, pictures instead of words, but one of his main hobbies was reading so he was very good with words as a consequence. Lena took his advice, she needed a break from the stress anyway and tea and biscuit did sound like a good idea.

When she returned to her desk it was to find that someone had finally answered one of her emails and now she had a basis for her column. Relieved she sent Tom another text

_‘You’re a genius Hon, I took a little break and someone has replied to an email, so I can actually get started now_ _J_ _’_

**‘That’s good darling, hope the words flow for you. X x x’**

Unfortunately for Lena, closer inspection of the contents of the email didn’t yield quite the results she was hoping for, but it did at least give her a starting point to go trawling on the ‘net, which was the aspect of her job she liked the least, it was far too easy to either get distracted or worse, not be able to verify what she read as fact, not speculation calling into question the veracity of her own work. Lena referred to ‘net crawling as her ‘necessary evil’ and resisted it at all costs, much preferring to get her information from the legitimate source. She reflected that the only thing keeping her going right now was the support of her loving boyfriend and decided to send him another text.

_‘Urgh, have to go ‘net crawling, the email wasn’t as good as I hoped_ _L_ _’_

**‘So sorry darling, hope it goes better than last time’**

Honestly thought Lena, Tom’s unwavering support was the only reason she wasn’t a complete mess some days.

**_Meanwhile on the other side of town_ **

Tom put down his phone with a sigh, his darling girl was having such a bad week, they were meant to be enjoying themselves on days out, not worrying about deadlines. He wondered what he could do to make her day better, apart from being on the end of a phone of course, even if it was only texting. Suddenly it came to him, it was obvious really, he’d cook her favourite meal. She loved his Bolognese, he mused, and a home-made rich chocolate fudge cake with vanilla cream for pudding sounded just what the boyfriend ordered. He checked the time, and the store cupboards for any missing ingredients, and with a smile on his handsome face for the surprise that would be waiting for Lena when she got home, grabbed some shopping bags, keys and phone of course and walked to the local shops to pick up what he needed. On the quick jaunt to the shops he resolved to keep this a secret from his girlfriend. It would be a nice surprise after the bad day she was obviously having on top of the previous two.

It was no bother at all to pick up all the ingredients he needed and as soon as he was home, well after his own cuppa of course, he set to making Lena her surprise meal. The first thing to do was the vanilla cream as the vanilla seeds needed time to infuse into the cream before being lightly whipped just before serving. The rich chocolate cake came next as it would need time to cool before it was assembled. Tom quickly decided the house was too quiet and put on some music whilst he worked, occasionally singing along and dancing to particular favourites. When the cake batter was safely cooking in the oven it was time for the icing, which Tom preferred to make by hand as opposed to using electric appliances. He got out his favourite mixing bowl and quickly softened some butter before mixing in icing sugar and good quality cocoa powder, creaming it all together with his deceptively strong but lean arm muscles. Cake baked to perfection and cooling and icing done ready to go Tom took the time to lay the table for a romantic meal for two, candles, serviettes and even a small posy of flowers that he knew Lena liked.

Not really wanting to disturb his girl at work, but wanting to know if her day was getting any better he fired off a quick text

**‘Hello darling girl, how’s it going?’**

It didn’t take long for a reply

_‘Fine thanks Hon, well I think so anyway the ‘net crawling’ wasn’t as bad as I feared; actually got stuff I could cross reference. Just finished my notes and starting on the article proper now’_

**‘That’s good news darling girl; will you be home at the usual time tonight? I could have a bath ready for you, if you want?’**

_‘That sounds heavenly, and **yes** it should be about the usual time?’_

Tom smiled to himself as he sent his final message **‘Right, that’s one relaxing bath booked for 6:30pm. I’ll see you then** **J** **’**

_‘See you later Hon x x x ‘_

There was nothing to do now but wait until it was time to prepare the main course so Tom settled down in his favourite chair, still with his music on, and picked up his latest read.

**_Back in the office_ **

Lena was relatively pleased at how her day was turning out, it wasn’t perfect by any means; perfect would have been home with Tom or out on a picnic or a cinema trip, but that aside it wasn’t too bad. The article was coming together slowly, another source had finally answered a text so she had a little more to go on now but the words just would not flow and she knew it still wouldn’t be up to her normal standard which annoyed her very much. She had a reputation for always doing the best research and turning that into easy to read articles that imparted all the information required in language that wasn’t condescending or too ‘techy’ which was what made her the ‘go to person’ for articles just like the one she was currently working on. Sighing to herself she bent her fingers over her keyboard and prepared to return to the fray. Finally, after two re-writes and some not so fine tuning Lena was satisfied as what she’d managed, as she’d predicted earlier to herself, it wasn’t her best work but it was complete and on time and for once that would have to do. She allowed herself a little smile as she hit ‘send’ in the email that would have the article in her boss’ inbox in moments and tidied away her work area in preparation for the long commute home, knowing there would be loving arms and a nice relaxing bath waiting for her when she got there.

**_Across town again_ **

Tom checked his watch and started when he realised what the time was; Lena would just be leaving work and stating her journey home so it was time for more cooking. Placing his bookmark carefully in place and his book back on the table by his chair, he went to the kitchen to wash his hands and start more food prep. The cake was again done first, the rich butter icing was used to sandwich the two halves together and then coat the whole cake in chocolatey goodness, wanting everything to be as perfect a possible he carefully transferred the finished confection to a cake stand so it could be presented nicely when it was time. Next the vanilla cream was whipped to soft peaks and placed in a serving dish and then it was time for the signature dish. He busied himself preparing all the veg first, having learnt the hard way that doing it ‘on the go’ was a nearly guaranteed way of burning *something*!

It took no time at all to peel and chop some carrots and onions, and wash and dice some celery. Then it was time to start, the onions were gently fried in a bit of butter and then chopped bacon and the veg were added. When the veg had just softened the mince was added to brown off and then the liquid ingredients went into the pan, chopped tomatoes, a dash of the red wine they would be having with the meal and a splash of milk, not to mention a selection of fresh herbs from the patch in garden that Tom kept cultivated just for his cooking. He loved to cook, always had, but it was so much nicer now he had someone he loved to cook for. Once the sauce in the pan had reduced somewhat it was time for it to go in the oven for about 30 or so minutes, longer definitely wouldn’t hurt though and there was no point starting the pasta until his darling girl was practically out of her bath anyway. Checking his watch again he realised that she would just be starting the walk from the nearest Tube station which gave him about 10 minutes to run said bath and so he went upstairs to do just that. It as the work of moments to start the bath running and add some relaxing bubbles to the running water, however well Lena had said her day had ended up he knew this gesture would be appreciated.

**_At the closest Tube Station_ **

Lena just couldn’t believe her bad luck, the first step out from the Tube Station and it was pouring with rain, it had been sunny, with no precipitation in the forecast when she left home that morning so she hadn’t bothered with a coat, and her compact umbrella which normally lived in her work bag was nowhere to be found, she was going to get soaked! It was only 10 minutes to her front door though so she set off determinedly. He high heels made it difficult to walk much faster than normal so she had to resign herself to taking as long as usual to walk the distance. Things definitely did not improve for her when a passing car decided that there was no need to try and avoid the puddle rapidly spreading across the road. The resultant spray caught her full on and immediately, all the good feelings she’d managed to retain from meeting her deadline vanished like the droplets now falling from her hair, and her hem.

Fuming once more Lena desperately hoped that Tom had kept his word and would have a bath waiting for her when she finally got home, she needed it now more that she did when it was promised to her! It was a very bedraggled, cold woman who finally managed to get her key in the door of the house she was buying with her beloved Tom and for a moment she just stood, dripping in the hallway. Tom was quick to come and see her when he heard the key though.

“Oh my darling girl” he exclaimed as soon as he saw her “I didn’t realise it was raining that heavily, let’s get you out of those wet things and straight into the bath so you can warm up!”

Taking her briefcase and bag from her to leave where they fell for now, Tom guided a shivering Lena up the stairs and towards the bathroom; she could already smell the scent Tom had added as she entered the landing.

“There was a car, and a puddle!” Lena explained as Tom helped her out of her sopping wet things.

“Oh my darling girl, that explains how you got quite so wet” was the sympathetic reply. “Now, I’ll take these wet clothes to the laundry and put some towels to warm in the tumble dryer, how does that sound?”

“That sounds divine” Lena said eyeing the bath longingly.

“Right, won’t be long then” Tom said encouragingly “Hop in the bath and get yourself warm darling girl”

Lena did as she was told, grateful as she did so that the bath they had got was big enough for even her lanky boyfriend to relax fully in, as it made more space for her to lay back and just luxuriate in the warm water and bubbles so thoughtfully prepared for her.

Downstairs Tom had indeed put some towels to warm in the tumble dryer, he’d also put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta and checked on the oven, turning the heat down slightly and checking that the sauce hadn’t dried out too much. Lena hadn’t seemed to notice the smell of his cooking surprise just yet, but then she had been rather distracted when she arrived home. The tumble dryer chimed to say it was done and the contents were quickly refolded and taken upstairs to their intended recipient. Lena looked a lot warmer now she was in the bath and she smiled gratefully at Tom as he poked his head around the door to drop off the warmed towels, leaving them on the heated towel rail so they retained their warmth.

“Tom?” Lena asked tentatively

“Yes?”

“Can you get my comfy pyjamas and my fluffy dressing gown out and put them on the bed for me please?” Lena said sweetly

“Of course darling girl” Tom replied with a smile and went to do her bidding, if Lena wanted to snuggle all night that was more than fine with him.

He went downstairs again once he’d done as he’d been asked, listening attentively for the sounds of his darling girl getting out of her bath as that was his cue for putting the fresh pasta in the boiling water, with just a splash of oil to stop the water boiling over and the pasta sticking to itself. With perfect timing Lena descended the stairs and made her way to where she could hear her man, Tom’s plans came to fruition as he found her staring at the table in the dining room, cosily lit by candles and set for two.

“I thought you could do with some pampering and cheering up after your bad day” he explained gently, guiding her to a chair which he pulled out for her as a gentleman always should. “So supper is all prepared and I’ll just go and get it.” He covered the distance to the kitchen in no time thanks to his long legs and soon Lena was delighted to see the components of her favourite meal sitting in front of her, there was even fresh Parmesan cheese to shave on top of the sauce if she so desired.

“Thank you so much for this Tom” she said softly as she helped herself to the spaghetti. “It’s just what I needed today.”

“It’s no bother at all my darling, I guessed as much so decided to just go ahead and make it, you wait until you see dessert!”

“Why? What is it?” Lena asked excitedly.

Tom just tapped his nose in the universal sign for ‘don’t be nosey’ and helped himself to the pasta whilst Lena pouted and spooned herself some of the Bolognese sauce.

The meal was delicious, as always, when Tom cooked, and the chocolate fudge cake went down a treat too. Tom loaded the dishwasher while Lena got settled in the living room, remains of a glass of wine in hand, waiting for her beloved to come and cuddle, lean and lanky as he was Tom was an excellent cuddler, and add in her favourite film on DVD and just perhaps Lena’s day wasn’t quite as bad as she’d first thought.


End file.
